It has been alleged that Charles Mangion said that a Labour government would reduce social services. A number of journalists, some desperate and others who are not really worth their salt, have also been repeating this outright nonsense. But who believes such a blatant lie when the recent history of the welfare state in Malta is known to all and sundry?

I hold that, when he said what he actually said, Dr Mangion was too generous. It was, in fact, the present Administration which, in reality, reduced social services and this in two distinct ways.

First, when they actually withdrew existing benefits, as when, for a number of years, children's allowances were no longer being received by all families; when they closed health clinics as well as when stipendji sħaħ no longer meant "full stipends".

And second, when, through inefficiency, squandering of public funds and worse, they reduced public finances to the sorry state in which they find themselves today, thus rendering themselves incapable of increasing existing social services.

Just imagine what they could have done in the education, housing and health spheres with around €445 million overspent on a number of projects as well as with about €180 million being spent each year to service the national debt which they allowed to get out of hand!